Delano Prison Inmate Dies After Recreation Yard Attack

DELANO — An incarcerated man died Thursday after he was attacked by two other men at a state prison in California’s Central Valley, corrections officials said.

Sidney Kang, 31, was attacked by two other inmates at about 10 a.m. in a maximum-security recreational yard at Kern Valley State Prison in Delano, prison officials said.

He was treated for his injuries at the prison but died a short time later, officials said.

Two inmate-made weapons were found and the death was being investigated as a homicide, authorities said.

Kang Serving Assault Sentence

Kang was sent to prison from Los Angeles County in 2014 to serve 14 years for assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury, prison officials said. He had a previous serious felony conviction and it was his second strike.

Sidney Kang (CDCR)

Prison officials said it’s believed that Kang was attacked by Anthony Ramirez and Michael Caldera.

Ramirez, 40, was admitted to prison in 2008 from Los Angeles County and was serving a life sentence with a chance of parole. Two years ago, he received another 12 years for seriously assaulting someone in the Kern County prison and last year he received another two years for possessing or manufacturing a deadly weapon, officials said.

Caldera, 35, was sent to prison in 2010 from San Bernardino County and was serving 71 years and four months for several second-degree armed robbery convictions, authorities said.

Second Recent Inmate Death at Delano Prison

Inmate Alfredo Valenzuela, 50, was killed early Saturday, April 30, at the prison.

At about 2:05 a.m., officers discovered Valenzuela unresponsive in the cell he shared with Noe Herrera, 36, during a security check.

An emergency medical alert was immediately issued, and staff quickly responded and attempted life-saving measures. He was taken to the prison’s treatment center but died shortly later, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said.

Valenzuela was received by CDCR from Los Angeles County in November 2010 with a life-without-parole sentence for two counts of first-degree murder, first-degree burglary, and vehicle theft.

Herrera was received by CDCR in August 2019 from Santa Barbara County with a life-with-parole sentence for second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder.

Kern Valley State Prison opened in 2005 and houses more than 3,200 minimum-to high-security inmates.

Kang was the third inmate killed there this year.

Inmate Killed in Soledad

An inmate was killed in an assault at Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad on Tuesday, officials said.

Edgar Delgado, 39, died after he was attacked by another inmate armed with a homemade weapon in a maximum security exercise yard, according to officials,

Correctional officers used chemical agents to stop the assault.

Authorities said they’re treating Delgado’s death as a homicide and didn’t release the other inmate’s name, citing an ongoing investigation by prison officials and the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office.

Delgado was serving a sentence of life with the possibility of parole since 2008. He was convicted in Los Angeles County of attempted first-degree murder of a peace officer or firefighter with a firearm, shooting a firearm with gross negligence, and possession of a firearm by an ex-felon.

(GV Wire contributed to this article.)